VIEW FROM DOWN UNDER - THE MEL FARRELL COLUMN

I’m writing this week’s column from possibly my favourite vantage point in world cricket; the press overflow section of the OCS Stand at The Oval. I’ve never covered a Test from inside the press box here; the tinted windows and soundproofed silence may be helpful when filing to a deadline but they also make you feel completely separated from the action in front of you, walled off in a hermetically sealed chamber.
No, I prefer to sit at the desks outside, breathing fresh air and looking across the field at the stately pavilion or, to the right,...